Sports
‘It was an honour coaching you’ – Eguavoen hails Mikel Obi on retirement
Former Super Eagles coach, Austin Eguavoen has expressed nostalgia following the official retirement of ex-Nigeria international, John Mikel Obi on Tuesday.
Eguavoen, in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle, said it was an honour being one of Obi’s coaches during his 20-year footballing career.
Eguavoen, who currently serves as the Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), coached Mikel during the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2003.
He was a member of the coaching crew at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), where Mikel Obi and the team won a bronze medal, and also during the 2008 AFCON.
Congratulations on your retirement, John Mikel Obi.
An honor coaching you at the FIFA U17 World Cup 2003, AFCON 2006 🥉 & AFCON 2008. 🇳🇬
Enjoy the good life. 🥂 pic.twitter.com/azxOaSxoVI
— Austin Eguavoen (@coacheguavoen) September 27, 2022
Read Also: Kuwaiti club terminate Mikel Obi’s contract four months after signing midfielder
“There is a saying that “all good things must come to an end”, and for my professional football career, that day is today,” Mikel Obi wrote on Instagram.
“I look back at the past 20 years of my career, and I must say that I am very satisfied with all that I was able to achieve and more importantly the human it has helped shape.
“All of this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my family, managers, clubs, coaches, teammates and most importantly my ever-loyal fans.
“You supported me through my highs and lows, even on days that I did not live up to your expectations. I say a big thank you.”
Mikel rose to prominence representing Nigeria at the 2005 FIFA U-17 FIFA World Cup in the Netherlands at the Flying Eagles finished second to a Lionel Messi-led Argentina side.
He won the 2013 AFCON and was also part of Bronze medals AFCON teams in 2006, 2010, and 2019 editions.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...